


Complications

by kuroikitsu



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alya is best bro, Angst, F/M, Nino is a good bro, One-Sided Chat Noir/Ladybug - Freeform, One-Sided Marionette Dupain-Cheng/Adrien Agreste, post-Simon Says/Jackady
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 06:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9872468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kuroikitsu/pseuds/kuroikitsu
Summary: Chill Adrian legit blushes when Ladybug talks to him.Collected Ladybug legit stammers when talking to Adrian.As the best bro Nino notices these sorts of things, and encourages the situation the best he can.





	1. Prologue- The Jackady Incident

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Ladybug fic and the first thing I've posted in quite a while. I noticed that both Adrien and Ladybug were rather obvious and Nino was right there watching but nothing ever gets said about it. Adrien doesn't even get teased! It also made me really want specifically Ladybug/Adrien so I decided to write some. It will probably turn into a full love square (not sure yet) but each relationship will be separate. That'll be fun. Also, I'm using both the French and English terms for things depending on what I like better. Meaning it'll probably be mostly French but with Spots On and Claws out rather than Transform me. (What can I say, I'm cheesy). Tags will be added as fic progresses as there's nothing I personally hate more than a wall of tags, half of which hasn't even happened in the story yet. 
> 
> This is also unbeta'd and unedited. If someone would like to be my beta, just let me know!

Akuma’s tended to hit certain major targets. City Hall wasn't unusual. Le Grand Paris was standard. The school was expected. But the TV station? That was darn near a requirement. Nino had known that, had understood the risks and had faith in Ladybug and Chat Noir to keep them safe, when he had accepted The Challenge. So when the dude, Jackady, turned up and changed everyone into his army, Nino wasn’t surprised. The only thing he hadn’t expected was how quickly he lost track of Adrien.

It was quite honestly terrifying, and while hiding Nino couldn’t help but think about all the other times Adrien disappeared when danger hit. Either Adrien instinctively knew all the best hiding spots or he always managed to get kidnapped or turned. Nino tried to be optimistic and believe the first. When Ladybug did show up, all bright justice and ready to kick some ass Nino felt like he could finally actually breathe. He called out to her, knowing she could make everything right again. When he told her about Adrien, she smiled reassuringly, like a mom soothing a kid from a nightmare.

When they did find his best bro, he didn't question how he escaped. He didn't question a lot of things, big and small, when it came to Adrien. It was how they worked. Adrien kept the secrets he had to while still trying to be the best friend he could. Nino complained about all the unfair stuff in Adrien's life while being there for him in the ways he knew how. So he didn't question it.

At the time, he didn't question the interaction with Ladybug either. He was too happy to have his friend back. Jackady was after Adrien's dad. The situation was too serious to think about minor things at the moment. That didn't mean Nino didn't notice. Adrien never stuttered. Especially not at a girl.

Nino hadn't been exaggerating when he said Adrien's room was the most extravagant room he's seen in his life. He's seen TV show rich boys with smaller rooms. Looking around, Nino wondered how much Adrien must have hated being dictated to to ever want to go to school. Nino wouldn't if he had all this at his disposal.

The shower thing was weird, but only on the sense that Ladybug and Chat Noir hadn't gotten rid of Jackady yet. Nino got hiding in weird, dusty spots, but Nino always waited until everything was over before he felt the desire to get whatever hiding spot grime off him. If Adrien said it was the model in him (which was only a semi obvious lie), then Nino would believe it. Another one of those little things he wouldn't question.

Ladybug stuttered when he told her that when she came to rescue them. He couldn't see well through the mask, but from the way she was standing, Nino was fairly sure she was bright red. It could be disbelief- he felt the same when Adrien first said he was jumping into a shower now, but Nino didn't think so. Ladybug had also stuttered when she first met Adrien in the TV station. Nino remembered because it was so odd for Ladybug to do something like that. Just as odd as it was for Adrien. Nino was going to get to the bottom of this. He just had to wait until Jackady was gone. It was what best friends did, after all.


	2. Bro Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien had scheduled this time to hang out with Nino nearly a month ago. Nothing was stopping it, not even embarrassing conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned to have this up yesterday. I suck. Adrien fought me on bits of this so I apologize if its at all awkward.

Adrien didn’t honestly get the chance to hang out with his friends often.  It wasn’t that he wasn’t invited, or didn’t have permission but between his schedule and his duties as Chat Noir, he hardly ever had time to go. Nino, honestly hadn’t seemed too bothered with that. In the beginning there were quite a few “Dude, really?”’s when Adrien had to excuse himself for a fencing or Chinese lesson, but Nino never failed to greet him in the morning for school, or wave him over to his seat, or eat with him at lunch. It made him grateful to have such an amazing friend.

It also made him willing to do anything to protect what little time he did have with his friends. He and Nino had arranged this for weeks. After the first time Nino had been inside his home with nothing more than an akuma attack going awry, Adrien had managed to somehow get clearance for Nino to come again. He had to be alone, and it was only at certain times and they were only allowed in Adrien's room but it was more than Adrien had had in his life. And if Nino’s reaction from the last time he was in the room was to be believed, then Nino didn't really have a problem being locked inside Adrien's room like Adrien did. Having a friend there would make it better, he hoped.

Adrien could only pray that an akuma attack didn't happen today.

Nino was quick to toss his school bag on the first available corner and head over to the case of video games that Adrien honestly hadn't had time to keep up with. “Dude! Some of these were never even officially released!” Nino sounded excited.

Adrien hadn't even known. There were a few there that he actually wanted but most of them his father had assigned Nathalie to get. Because they were new and he was supposed to want them, he supposed. “You can pick anything you want.” He said instead, grabbing two controllers for them. Nino bounds back over, choice in hand. It takes Adrien a minute to get used to the controls again, but he doesn't mind. Nino teased him about how he can be so bad at something he owns. The only game Adrien has had time for lately is Ultimate Mecha Strike.

“So…” Nino says, his voice drawn out in a way that tells Adrian he's not about to talk about the game. “Ladybug?”

Adrien's cheeks did not go red at the mention of his lady. He also did not immediately start looking 

around for her (or an akuma because Ladybug only appeared when there was evil to be fought).

“Oh my god dude! Really?” Nino was loud and Adrien really had no idea what he was talking about. Or not talking about since he hadn't really said anything.

“Really, what?” He asked, taking Nino’s distraction as a chance to pulverize him.

“Crap!” Nino was quick to retaliate when he respawned. “You really like Ladybug.”

“Everyone likes Ladybug. She's a superhero.” Adrien was quick to defend. He didn't know why he felt the need to. He loved his lady more than anything, and had he been transformed would have had no problem saying so to any and everyone. As Adrien though, that love felt like it needed to be guarded. Hidden from everyone's knowledge.

“No dude. You like her more than just a regular pedestrian being thankful to a superhero. You have a crush on her. You should have told me dude!” Nino sounded entirely too excited about that conclusion.

“Wh-what makes you think that?” Adrien cursed the small stutter and hoped Nino hadn't noticed it.

Adrien had a black cat’s luck. “That for one. She's not even here for you to be starstruck about meeting her. And you were blushing. I've never seen you react to a girl like that.”

“She's just brave and strong and independent. I admire her for always doing what's right.” Adrien kept his voice calm and collected.

“And she's cute right?” Nino added.

Cute wasn't enough to describe Ladybug. “She's beautiful and charming and elegant.” And Adrien was saying entirely too much.

“You totally have a crush on her dude.You probably even follow the Ladyblog, don’t you?” Nino insisted, grinning wildly. Obviously Adrien is a bad liar so he didn't bother deny it. He was utterly in love with her and could only hope to one day get to know who was the girl behind his lady in the mask.

In an case, it was better to deflect. “It doesn’t matter either way. She has Chat Noir.” Yeah, right. He knew in his mind that he would do anything at all for his lady, but she kept pushing him away. She trusted Chat Noir as far as the mission was concerned but she never seemed interested in more. They never spoke about their personal lives and she was adamant that neither knew who the other was. Adrien hated it, but hated the idea of betraying her trust even more. 

Nino snorted. “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, bro. Did you see the way she reacted around you?”

Adrien blinked. What was Nino talking about? In fact, Adrien was confused enough to ask aloud. His lady never treated him differently than anyone else, other than chastising him for his flirting and teasing him for his puns. He assumed that was because all the pedestrians were too busy trying to get to safety (or record the action for a certain one) to flirt or make jokes. “What are you talking about?”

Nino laughed. “You really  _ are _ blind to when a girl likes you. The hero of Paris, cool mysterious but cheerful Ladybug, blushed when she met your eyes. And she stuttered. I've seen enough akuma attacks around school to know she never stutters. And the was standing? She hunched her shoulders in made herself look almost delicate. She was acting  _ shy _ dude.” Adrien’s eyes widened, wondering how much truth was in Nino’s words. Nino continued, “So it takes a magical superhero to catch your eye huh? Your fangirls would be so depressed.” He laughed and nudged a playful elbow into Adrien’s side. 

Adrien, quite honestly, hadn’t finished processing the possibility that Ladybug liked him as Adrien. It just seemed so unlikely, that someone as brave and strong and sweet as his lady would be interested in him. Adrien him. Adrien who was honestly just a pretty face.

“I really don’t think she’d even think about me.” Adrien admitted. 

“Nope.” Nino said. Adrien tilted his head in confusion. It felt like Nino was only talking in half statements and riddles today. “No defeatist talk. You can’t not have hope. If you don’t have a chance of wooing your dream girl, none of us do buddy.” 

Adrien laughed. “Why would I want anyone else to have a chance?”

Nino just gave him a flat look. “Cold dude. Maybe I shouldn’t help you figure out how to get your dream girl.” Adrien didn't respond in words, but apparently his face said enough. “ I'm teasing. It's my job as your best friend to hook you up if I can.”

There was a huge flaw with trying to “hook up” with Ladybug. No one knew who or where she was when she wasn't saving Paris. It seemed likely that Ladybug lived within the city limits considering how quickly she was able to get to the akumas. That didn't really help though. There were a ton of blue eyed, dark haired girls in the city. Not to mention the magic probably changed things. Skewed her appearance so it was harder to find her. Without finding her, the closest Adrien Agreste would ever come to Ladybug was the Ladyblog and the occasional pre transformation save. Chat Noir was much more free to approach her even if she rebuffed him often. Not that Adrien should be trying to hook up or do anything of the like. Ladybug obviously had other things on her mind than love. She was so focused and so pure and she trusted him. Adrien shouldn't even consider anything that would make him go against his lady’s trust in the slightest. Adrien had to admit that the idea was tempting though.

“Well, first thing is, how much do we know about Ladybug?”

Adrien was more than happy to answer that one. The small gems of information he did have about his lady were minor but he could admit they were easily the most precious things he owned. There were some things he couldn't say. Things that Adrien couldn't know but Chat did, like the way her eyes sparkled when she laughed, how she smelled of cinnamon vanilla and goodness, how she grew stronger and more confident when backed into a right spot.

There were things Adrien noticed. Things he'd gather from rewatching the blog for hours when he wanted to see his lady and there was no Akuma around. Or after a short fight, when the interaction Chat Noir had with Ladybug didn't feel like enough. When Chat was fighting, things moved too quickly for him to notice her hair wasn't quite black but a midnight blue  that no bottle could capture. That she always waved to Alya and her fans when she knew everything was safe. When the Ladyblog finally got an interview with her, Adrien damn near memorized every word. She didn't answer many personal questions but she did answer some. She liked Jagged Stone and fashion magazines. She didn't have one particular favorite color but was find of certain shades of blue and green and she liked spending time in the park. Adrien was enamored and everything he learned made him like her more. It made her real, that she had things she liked and she did more than save Paris.

By the time he finished listing facts he knew about Ladybug, Nino was just staring at him, one eyebrow arched high. “Well you're dedicated with this crush. That's more than I thought.” Adrien had no idea if that was a bad thing or not so he just looked away. “If our resident Lady stalker hasn't figured it out yet, I doubt we'll be able to.”

Adrien couldn't deny the truth of that, but if there was no way of figuring out who she was, why had Nino made him tell the embarrassing list of Ladybug facts aloud? Was it a test or something? No, Nino wouldn't do that. Adrien had more than enough tests in his life. Nino complained about most of them. Nino wouldn't do that. Either way, it left a rather important question. “What do we do now?”

Nino thought for a moment. “Well, if we can't make it so Ladybug is around on your time, we're just going to have to approach her on her time!”

“I doubt she would appreciate being interrupted in the middle of saving Paris Nino.” Adrien pointed out. Not that Adrien could since he was a bit busy being Chat. Chat knew from personal experience she was rather vehemently against it. Ladybug had been visibly angry when Chloe kept trying to talk to her during the fight. And yes Chloe was… extreme, but it was nearly the only time Adrien had seen his Lady not composed. It had to be from note than Chloe being Chloe. She was fine with his father and he was far more aggravating that Chloe could ever be.

“We don't interrupt the fight!” Nino protested incredulously. “No wonder you always vanish and get captured or whatever. After she purifies the akuma and before she jumps away. Which means you can't vanish next attack. I'll stick with you so you don't do something stupid. And we're probably tagging with Alya because she always gets the closest to the attacks and doesn't get killed. Cool?” Nino offered his fist.

It was actually the freaking opposite of cool. Adrien could not not vanish. Lady if needed Chat Noir there to protect her much more than Adrien needed to talk to Ladybug. He also couldn't be in two places at once. If Nino was going to really be right next to him the entire time, he couldn't transform. He'd never forgive himself if something happened to Ladybug. But what could he say? Chat Nori’s identity was a secret. He couldn't tell Nino. He didn't have any other excuses.

“Cool.” Adrien told him with a smile, bumping Nino’s fist with his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always all kudos and comments are loved and appreciated. Criticism is also welcome.
> 
> Also, this was typed on my phone so let me know of typos and the like. I tried to look through it but... yeah.

**Author's Note:**

> Crappy short prologue is crappy! And short. Comments and kudos are always welcome and encourage me to write more.


End file.
